Things I will accomplish before the big three-oh.

William’s Fourth Month

The biggest event in William’s fourth month was visiting lots of family, including his great grandparents, in Oregon over the Fourth of July. There were so many pictures from that, though, that I’m going to save them for a separate post. So what else is new during month 4? William is still such a good baby, and he doesn’t give us too much trouble. He’s sleeping in his crib now, and he had zero trouble transitioning to that from the bassinet in our room. I think I definitely had more trouble than he did. He sleeps through the night pretty much every night now, and the other night he slept 11 hours. Woohoo! He has no nap schedule during the day, however, and some days he hardly sleeps at all. When he does, he very much prefers to be sleeping on mommy. Mommy doesn’t usually mind, but would like to get things done occasionally too. He drools ALL THE TIME when he’s awake, and copiously. We’ve had to keep a bib on him a lot of the time. He doesn’t mind though, it’s one more thing for him to chew on, because along with the drooling came putting everything in his mouth. He’s very good at grabbing toys (and hair, and glasses, and noses, and whatever else he can reach) and putting them in his mouth. He’s getting close to sitting by himself too, and he does not want to be even slightly reclining when he’s awake; if he’s sitting back, he’ll throw his hands in front of him, tip his head forward, and strain with all his might to sit up straight. The kid has abs of steel. This month he’s also started smiling, laughing, and vocalizing a lot more. I love every bit of it. He loves being manhandled a little, like when David bounces him up and down. When I lift him upside down, he usually smiles and laughs in spite of himself, even if he’s cranky. Despite rolling over from back to stomach for three days straight last month, he hasn’t done it since. I guess he just got bored, and now he only tries if his food is out of reach. Last week he had his 4 month check up, which went well. The shots were much better than last time, thank goodness. His crazy growth has slowed down a little, and now he weighs 15.9 pounds and is 26 inches long (75th and 90th percentile, respectively). Most recently he’s discovered his feet, and now he holds on to them almost all the time. This evening he was sitting up and suddenly lunged forward, mouth open, trying to get it in his mouth. It’s hilarious and cute, but also a little dangerous. We have to really hold onto him.

Mommy turned thirty this month! I don’t think William noticed or cared. Actually, I barely noticed, except that I got two exceptional birthday cakes, a yummy dinner, and some very sweet gifts. I still struggle every day with my grief for Lucy, but William really lights up my life. It’s confusing for me to try to be a good mom to both of them, and I still feel a lot of guilt about it. I think William will probably see his mom cry more than many kids do, but I think he will understand. I’m going to be honest with him about it, and I don’t think it will hurt him to see us grieve openly. Anybody have any opinions about that?

Okay, enough talk. Now pictures!

First, the boy still makes funny faces. Lots of them.

He likes sitting on the couch, but sometimes throws himself to the side and flops over onto his tummy, so I have to watch him.

He’s still just as sweet as ever when he’s asleep. Don’t ask me how he gets into these positions.

Playing with toys is fun, but exhausting. And he’s big enough to play in the walker!

(His toy got stuck on his foot in his car seat, but he didn’t seem to mind.)

That last was from yesterday, sucking on the giraffe that Auntie Autumn got him.

He loves his play mat, and he’s getting really good at scooting around. This day I kept laying him where you can see my toes on the bottom, then I’d look over and he’d be way off the other side. I’d say “how’d you do that??” And he would just grin up at me.

He loves his daddy, and he just smiles and giggles when they play.

He’s a smiley boy now, and he especially loves to be outside:

(That’s his creepy old man look.)

We got him some baby ear protection for Fourth of July fireworks, and trying them on him was hilarious. First he was so confused about why he suddenly couldn’t hear. Then he pulled his head back, which only smooshed his fat cheeks. Then he tried to smile. And of course, instead of helping him, I was taking pictures and laughing hysterically.

He likes looking out our bedroom window:

And playing with mommy:

He’s so innocent, and then . . .

That was right after he grabbed my ears with both hands, pulled my face down to his face, and roared in my mouth. That’s right, he roared. Also, that eyebrow comes straight from his father. It has been passed down through at least four generations now.

Kisses! He opens his mouth now whenever I kiss him.

He likes when I blow on his face.

His thighs are too fat for the snaps, haha.

He’s playing with Uncle Justin and Hallie before my birthday dinner:

His papa forgot to wrap my present until the last minute, so right before we walked out the door he took William into the bedroom. I didn’t see the present until later. This cracks me up/is kind of creepy. Yes, David traced our baby on my gift.

The best birthday present of all:

I was dreading his next round of shots, but they weren’t so bad this time. One leg got red and swollen and hot, and he was really cranky for a while, and he didn’t sleep that well that night, but for the most part it was waaaayyy better this time. Before, completely zonked:

And after:

He’s gotten really good at keeping himself entertained for a while. One day I put him down in his crib for a nap, and didn’t hear anything for half an hour so assumed he was asleep. When I came in, this is what I saw – he was just happily playing. He’s always grabbing his feet now:

And this is my big big boy, on his four month birthday. Isn’t he growing up so fast?

Time is passing quickly, and William is constantly learning new things. I’m loving watching him grow and develop more personality. He brings such joy to our lives.